American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci., 15 (2): 154-160, 2015 ISSN 1818-6769 © IDOSI Publications, 2015 DOI: 10.5829/idosi.aejaes.2015.15.2.12535 Corresponding Author: Dr. Asim Muhammad, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Crop Production Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa, Pakistan. 154 Performance of Selected Irradiated Cotton Varieties During M2 Generation Asim Muhammad, Sultan Mehmood Wazir, Hidayat Ullah, Rehman Ullah and Shaista Afridi 1 2 2 2 3 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Crop Production Sciences, 1 The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan. Department of Botany, Faculty of Biological Sciences, 2 University of Science and Technology, Bannu, K.P.K., Pakistan. Directorate of Science & Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan 3 Abstract: Dry seeds of four cotton varieties were irradiated with 0, 10, 15, 20 and 25 kR doses of gamma irradiation from Co source of gamma irradiation in 2012 at Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), 60 Tarnab, Peshawar, Pakistan. Three highly potential cotton varieties i.e. Gomal-93, Bt-131 and Bt-CIM-602 with irradiation of 15, 20 and 25 kR, respectively selected for the second year (May, 2013) cultivation at Experimental Fields of Department of Botany, University of Science & Technology, Bannu, Khyber Pakhtun Khwa, Pakistan. Number of branches plant , number of leaves plant , number of flowers plant , number of bolls plant , 1 1 1 1 number of seeds plant and seed cotton weight plant showed significant differences. The tallest plant 1 1 (15.6 cm), more branches plant (37.8), higher number of leaves plant , (113.8), maximum number of flowers 1 1 plant (36.7), number of bolls plant (31.8), heavier seed weight (8.7g) were observed with Gomal-93. While, 1 1 Bt-131 showed long internodal length (1.44cm), medium statured plants (14.1 cm), medium number of branches plant (24.5), number of flowers plant (17.76) and highest seed cotton weight plant (15.33 g). Bt-CIM-602 1 1 1 produced the shortest plants (10.4 cm), minimum branches plant (23.8), flowers plant (16.4) and highest 1 1 number of seeds plant (20.33). It is concluded that cotton variety Bt-131 is recommended for cultivation in 1 Bannu and the surrounding area. Key words: Gamma Irradiation Cotton Varieties Yield INTRODUCTION knitwear units, 4,000 garment units (with 200,000 sewing Pakistan is the fifth largest producer of cotton in the capacity of 1,150 million square meters per year), nearly world, the third largest exporter of raw cotton, the fourth 1,000 ginneries, 300 oil expellers and 15,000 to 20,000 largest consumer of cotton and the largest exporter of indigenous, small scale oil expellers (kohlus). It is by any cotton yarn. About 1.3 million farmers (out of a total of measure Pakistan’s most important economic sector. Not 5 million) cultivate cotton over three million hectares, surprisingly, government policy has generally been used covering 15 per cent of the cultivable area in the country to maintain a stable and often relatively low domestic [1]. Cotton and cotton products contribute about 10 per price of cotton, especially since 1986-87 through the cent to GDP and 55 per cent to the foreign exchange imposition of export duties, in order to support domestic earnings of the country. As a whole, between 30 and industry. 40 per cent of the cotton ends up as domestic In Pakistan, cotton occupies a unique position in the consumption of final products. The remaining is exported agriculture economy. As the country has the potential to as raw cotton, yarn, cloth and garments. Cotton be become a key player in the global cotton and textile production supports Pakistan’s largest industrial sector, market place, the Government has been giving priority to comprising some 400 textile mills, 7 million spindles, 27,000 research and development programmers focusing on both looms in the mill sector (including 15,000 shuttleless the quantitative and qualitative improvements in cotton. looms), over 250,000 looms in the non-mill sector, 700 According to one estimate, the country has been loosing machines), 650 dyeing and finishing units (with finishing